Roses in The Walking Dead
by inuyasha 303
Summary: I thought when we escaped the museum, that everything would return to normal…! But what are these things-? Crossover, Ib and Walking Dead! /Mary's Version now up. See: "The Painted Dead."\


**Description**: I thought when we escaped the museum, that everything would return to normal…! But what _are_ these things-!? Crossover, Ib and Walking Dead!

**AN**: I DON'T EVEN KNOW! After being blown away by the game "Ib", Cry had to go play the amazingness that is "The Walking Dead"! Ahhhh~ ****Cough**** Anyway, the thought came to my head that the two games share a few similarities: A man and a young girl, that don't know anything about each other, have to run from horrible monsters and become close friends who depend on each other. I really like them both, so I wanted to do something that I thought would enable me to work with both of them. So this strange idea came to be.

**Warnings**: Violence, swearing and other such words that may disturb younger viewers.

**Dedicated**: To Cry, _(but unless a lot of people convince me this isn't horrible)_ I'll never send it to him. I'm sure he gets far too much fan-crap anyways, and he's not in it, it's just because he inspired me.

(_Note: This takes place after a modified 'Forgotten Portrait' ending, Garry still 'died' but Ib saved him in the end and they escaped together. This is told from Garry's P.O.V._)

* * *

**Chapter One**

**A New Nightmare**

* * *

/'And that was D. with 'Icing',/ -comes the clear voice over the radio as the car continues evenly down the road. His voice is louder then the music, so I stop drumming on the wheel and turn it down.

/'Let's go to the website, so see if we have any special requests.'/

A new song starts playing but it's not something I particularly like. Not that I'm paying much attention to the radio. I've got other things to think about. Like that paper I have to work on when I get home. And do I have anything for dinner tonight? Should I stop somewhere.

A cop car whizzes by, sirens wailing and I watch it out the rearview window, thinking it's strange. That's the fourth cop car I've seen in the past few minutes.

I brush my wavy bangs back, so I can see the road better and check the time (1). It'll be dark in an hour or so…

My thoughts are interrupted by the abrupt stop to the song playing.

/'This just in, folks.'/ The voice comes back, sounding unprepared, like he hadn't been ready to talk yet. /'Our Supervisor just showed up with the most… well… unbelievable… um, information. There's are…'/ There's a pause, then an almost exasperated sigh. /'-Theres what again?'/

I listen to the clatter over the speakers and turn up the radio again, not wanting to miss it if it was important.

/_'ZOMBIES_…'/ breathes a new voice into the microphone.

A shiver runs up my spine.

/'Zombies.'/ The first voice repeats.

/'Yeah. Well, the reports are that it's an outbreak of some kind of disease spreading through Atlanta. But there have even been some videos posted on the internet. Dead, rotting skin, eating people: the whole shebang. It's said that if one bites you, you turn into them! It's definitely a _Zombie Apo_ -'/

***Click***

I click the power button and shiver in my seat. I hate that kind of stuff…

"What a horrible joke…" I mutter out loud.

I've heard fake news like that on the radio all the time. It isn't even Halloween though. Why would they say something like that? Dead things don't just magically come to life, start chasing people, and trying to-

I slam on my breaks.

The car behind me blares its horn, stopping just short of smashing into mine, but I completely ignore them. I hit jab the on button with my finger.

/'…..'/

Dead air? They were just on a second ago!

Dead things walking… eating people… in Atlanta!

"Ib…!"

I grab the wheel and make a completely illegal U-turn and making matters worse by going over the speed limit as I head to the city.

Ib lives right on the edge of Atlanta! Ib, the little nine-year-old girl who was trapped with me inside a _painting world,_ where the paintings came to life and attacked us!

And I'm just going to assume that zombies can't be real?

"I'll just swing by." I tell myself. It's what I'll tell her mother, who doesn't trust me. "Just to make sure everything's ok. I'm sure it ok."

I promised her that if she needed help: I would come running. I'm going to be there if she needs me! I'll protect her!

…

_What…_

_What are these things!?_

These monsters with discolored skin and bloody, shredded clothes, just like the radio said, are lying in the streets. Or, some of them… are limping around! I saw a guy stop near the road and one of them grabbed him; started ripping him apart! He didn't even have a chance…

A car swerves into my lane and I jerk the car onto the sidewalk, knocking over a trash can before I can hit my breaks.

"For the love of-!" I pull the car into reverse, mumbling under my breath. "In a situation the like this, the last thing I need to deal with are the people who haven't learned how to drive…"

There's a loud **smack** as one of the corpses slams into my window. The strength of it's blow cracks the window and it's shrunken, dead eyes stare into mine.

I scream, stomping my foot on the gas. The car lunges backwards and I put it back in drive before that thing can try again. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! I just _escaped_ this! I don't want to go through this again!

Her street is empty when I get there. Empty of anything. There's not a single car on the road besides mine and I haven't seen a living person since that one man. I pull up in front of the nice house I've come to know pretty well.

The front door and little iron gate are wide open.

"Ib-!" I throw open the door and race up the pathway.

The front room of the house is dark, just illuminated with the orange color of the sunset. Nothing looks out of place except the entry table: keys dropped on the floor, a shattered picture frame and a few drops of what looks like blood. Is one of those things is in here?

"Ib-?" I call quietly, stepping over the glass. I don't see anything small enough to use as a weapon. There's no response, so I try louder:

"Ib-! Are you here-!?"

There's a response. A soft voice, it sounds like my name, coming from the dinning room!

"Ib!"

I run to the double doors and throw them open. The first thing my eyes adjust to is the end of a double barrel gun that suddenly obscures my view.

I freeze in place, my heart hammering in my chest as I half expecting it to go right off. But it doesn't. Taking a slow breath, I look up at the women holding my life in her hands.

It's Ib's mother. Her expression stern as usual, but the rest of her appearance is… off. Normally, she's so prim and proper, glaring at my pre-torn jacket. Now her dark red dress is disheveled and ripped; her normally neat bun messy, with strands of hair sticking up everywhere; and she looked pale, her face stained from tears, it looks like, running through her thin layer of makeup.

And little Ib is standing at her side, safe and sound, clinging to her mothers dress.

I sigh relieved. I was really worried there for a minute. "Are you ok?" I ask. She seems to be fine. She even smiles a little. But it fades fast when she looks back towards the kitchen doors. I look too, but don't see anything; they're closed tight.

"You really came." The women said almost angrily. "She said you would…"

"I had to." I defend myself. "I heard about those things and had to make sure she was ok."

She looks down at Ib, and my eyes are drawn to the blood drippings from her elbow.

"You're hurt!" I exclaim. The red liquid blends into the dark red of her dress. She closes her eyes, refusing to look back at me and takes a shaky breath. But it's Ib who answers quietly from her side:

"Daddy bit her."

Her father? I'd never had a problem with her father, but there's only one reason he would have done something like that.

I straighten up slowly as I look at the women. She stares back with dark eyes. She knows what that means. And she knows I know. I don't care if she's Ib's mother. If she might hurt Ib-! I won't let her hurt Ib!

"And he was…?" I begin.

They both look back at the kitchen door. "He got sick…" The women answers, with a lack of emotional coloring in her voice.

"Ib, back away." I tell her quickly. How long ago did it happen? How fast did they change? She already doesn't look well. I need to get Ib out of here, but she's got that gun… Ib will just have to forgive me for attacking her…

"Why?" The little girl asks me, her red eyes wide with confusion.

"I never trusted you." The woman says quickly, her voice venomous. "I've always thought you were suspicious, ever since you showed up with her handkerchief." She holds my gaze trying to read something. I don't back down. I need to get Ib away from her before she turns.

Her expression softens. "But you're here… and everyone else is gone. And I have no way of getting her to someone safe." She looks at me sadly and I can't believe what she's saying. "You've always shown concern for her. And here you are. You came even though those things are… and you don't even-"

Her face scrunches up and I can see her resolve breaking. "I'm sick... So I want you to take her somewhere safe. Get her wherever is safe. You take care of my little girl. _Protect_ my baby with your _life_."

I nod quickly, trying not to show my surprise. "I will." She must trust me a little. She wouldn't let me take her under any other circumstance.

"Mommy?" Ib asks as her mother kneels in front of her and puts the gun on the ground.

"Ib, sweetheart, you're going to go with Garry now. Ok?" He voice trembles but doesn't break right away. "Mommy's sick now too. Like Daddy was. I don't want to get you sick."

Ib looks at me. It looks like she's asking me to fix it and I don't know what to do. She looks back, her own voice afraid. "But I don't want you to get sick like Daddy."

"I know. And I won't let you become like him either." She kisses her forehead tenderly, tears falling down her cheeks. "You trust Garry, right? He saved you from whatever you think happened in that museum?" Ib nods solemnly. "Ok then. It's ok."

We all jump at a loud smash from outside. Sounds like a car crash. Avoiding one of those things maybe. "We need to go." I hurry. I don't want to break them apart, but the longer we wait the closer they get and the closer her mother is to changing. This isn't fair. This shouldn't be happening at all. She just back to her them. She just got them back and all this had to happen.

Her mother hugged her tightly, speaking fast to try and get in those last words. "I love you, Baby. Daddy and I love you so much; and we're proud of you, so proud. You're smart and beautiful a-and you'll be ok." My eyes water up as she starts to sob. "You'll be strong for Mommy, right? Be a big girl?"

There's another crash, but she doesn't let go. "Ma'am! We need to leave; they're coming!"

She doesn't let go. "You need to go…" She whispers, but her arms remain around her little girl. I grab Ib by her waist and pull her up into my arms. Her mother reaches towards us, but doesn't try to stop me.

"Wait-!" Ib says panicking. "Mommy-!"

"I love you, Baby!" She calls after us.

"Mommy!"

She struggles in my arms as I run out of the house. "Ib, calm down!" I say quickly, and she does, her fists clinging to my jacket as she closes her eyes and hides her face in my shoulder.

I reach the gate just as one of those things walk between me and the car. It's head turns to me when I gasp and step back. It moans and starts limping towards us, so I hold Ib close and look for a weapon in the garden. I don't want to put her down, but if I have to fight it-

There's a bang and a chunk of the things head explodes, causing it to topple backwards to the ground. I look back to see Ib's mother standing at the door with the gun aimed.

"Go!" She screams in angry frustration.

I get the door open as Ib calls out how much she loves her. "Buckle up." I say as I put her in the car. By the time I get into my side, the women has dropped the gun and is waving at us with a broken smile. (2)

I can see those things coming out the back mirror and some in front too. "Hold on." I order as I start the car up and floor it. Ib grabs the seat, half turned around as she watches her house disappear out the back window.

…

I take a deep inhale from my cigarette and blow it out, the nicotine still doing nothing to stop my hands from shaking. I don't like to smoke in front of Ib, but she's passed out in the seat next to me and I need one.

The living dead, zombies, monsters… How many had I seen getting out of town? They were at every single gas station they'd passed. Now we're almost out of gas, driving down an empty farm road in the middle of the night.

Cursing under my breath I take another drag and flick the bud out the window. Ib hates the smell; it's about time I quit. Somehow I get the feeling I don't have much of a choice anymore.

The gaslight has been going off for a while now. I don't even know where we're going. I look over at Ib, fast asleep beneath my jacket. She's still wearing her elementary school uniform. The red one. Now she's all alone and I've got to look after her… and I don't even know where we are!

The gauge is sitting on 'E' when I notice a light over the tall fields. Maybe it's a house. We might be able to get food and shelter for the night… or it might be filled with those things. Either way, I don't have a choice.

I almost miss the little dirt road turn off. The car practically crawls to a stop right at the end of that road in front of a white farmhouse and a bright porch light. I try to get it started again so I can move it out of the driveway, but it wont start. As I'm trying a normal older man comes out to stand on the porch.

I give up, leaving Ib in the safety of the car and get out. "Howdy." The man calls. "Car troubles?"

I smile a little nervously. "Yeah. We're out of gas. Any chance you happen to have some?"

The man shook his head, speaking in a gravely voice. "No, sorry son." He gives me a quick look over, but I can't tell what he's thinking either. "You just out of the city too?"

"Yes." I answer looking down. "My friend and I are from just outside Atlanta. Some of the roads were blocked off, so we just ended up coming this way." It wasn't the fastest route, but as long as we're moving away, I don't care.

The man sighed. "We've got a couple of people sleeping in the barn. You're welcome to stay here the night. But you'd better move that car first thing in the morning."

I nod immediately. "Yes, Sir. Thank you."

Ib isn't fazed when I pick her up. The fear must have eaten away at her energy. At least she doesn't seem to be having a nightmare.

The man glares where I bring her into the light. "Oh, another 'babysitter' is it?" He asks.

"No." I answer, then stop. Well… kind of. "She's my friend. I'm her guardian. For now."

"For now?" He repeats.

"Yes. Until all of this settles down. I'm sure she's got an aunt or grandparents who legally have custody, but her mother put her in my care and I'm going to get her somewhere safe first."

The man stares at me for a moment, then nods. "Alright. Blankets are in the barn. You're lucky we have so many. My names Hershel."

"Garry." I reply. "And this is Ib."

He lets me go without any more questions. There are two people already asleep on the ground when I get to the barn: a black man, probably in his thirties and his daughter. I lay Ib down in a clear space in the back of the barn before getting the blankets.

On the way back the man suddenly sits up with a gasp and looks right at me. I grip the fabric alarmed, hoping he doesn't take me as a threat or something. But he just sighs and falls back down. Must have been a nightmare.

I sneak by them again, and lay out the blankets half onto of each other. Putting Ib on one side, I sleep with her back to mine, so that I know she's still there.

…

"Hey! You get up too!" I open my eyes. "It's mornin'."

I sit up startled, remembering everything that happened and how I am not in my one-room studio apartment. Ib is already sitting up next to me. She's holding my jacket, but she doesn't look scared or sad. She's got that on blank expression that I know and love.

The man who'd yelled at us is a man in a baseball hat with a trucker look. The type of guy who usually hassles me about my hair when I stop somewhere to get gas. He's standing next the man that startled me last night.

A skinny kid with brown hair runs by stopping at the open door. "Dad!" He yells. "We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" Then he races off.

"We'd better get going or we wont here the end of it." The trucker man says. "We'll be outside when you're ready, sleeping beauty."

I glare. I can't tell if he's mocking me or trying to be friendly. Probably… a mixture of both.

The two men walked off, the little girl in tow. I stretch out. Sleeping on the ground made me sore. And itchy.

"Garry?"

I turn to the girl left in my care. I wonder how she feels about what's happened so far. Does she want to talk about it?

"Yes?" I say.

"…Where are we?"

"The cars out of gas, so we stopped here. We're at a farm. The owners name is Hershel."

"Oh."

I wait for her to continue but she doesn't, so I stand up. I help her stand up and brush my jacket off, before pulling it on.

"What do we do now?" Ib asks.

I sigh, because I really have any clue… "I don't know. This isn't like being stuck in the gallery… I don't think there's a way to escape this." She looks up at me and I kneel down in front of her. "Well, Ib… what do you want to do?" There aren't any puzzles or riddles around, but I never would have escaped without her clever ideas.

She just shakes her head. "We can't go back." She said firmly, which I assume means that's what she wants to do but knows we can't.

"No… we can't." I rub her head and she smiles. "Come on. I've got to move the car. Maybe you can play with the other little girl."

She takes my hand as I stand up. "As long as she doesn't try to kill us." She says, thinking about the painting Mary. I feel a little nervous now that she brings that up…

By the time we get out there, everyone seems to be doing their own thing. The trucker is at his truck, the little girl is sitting with a women on some hay, and the black gentlemen is nowhere to be seen. The women has blond hair, but looks too young to be the farmers wife. Maybe his daughter, or the truckers wife. Either way, we should introduce ourselves.

"Hello." I begin.

She smiles as she looks at us. "Hello." She says, with a slight accent. "Hershel told us you came last night too. My name is Katjaa, and Kenny over there-" She motions towards the trucker. "-is my husband."

"My names Clementine." The girls says a little shyly, smiling at Ib.

Ib smiles back. "I'm Ib."

"And I'm Garry."

"Siblings?" The women asks.

"No, I'm just taking care of her."

She smiled. "Just like Lee and Clementine." Her expression falls slightly. "I guess… a lot of children have been separated from there families because of this."

I look at the little girl. So she isn't his daughter? I wonder if her parents became those things too…

"Ib? Would you like to sit with Clementine and I?" Katjaa asks sweetly. Ib nods and sits on the other side of Clementine. "What are you going to do Garry?"

I look over. "Well… first I'm going to push the car out of the way. I don't think we'll be getting out of here in it though…"

"Are you out of gas?" She asked.

"Yes. Hershel didn't have any to spare."

She nodded. "I'm afraid we took the last he had. I'm sure Kenny will help you with the car though. Kenny!" She called over, the man looked up. "Help Garry move his car out of the way."

"You got it." He answers, moving over to the abandoned vehicle. "Come on."

"Thank you." I say quickly, before hurrying over.

"So Garry, huh." The man says as I open the door and set the wheels. Maybe I should ask Ib to get in and steer… she'd only really have to hold the wheel, but it'll probably be ok. "The names Kenny."

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping." I say as I get beside him and we start to push. It's not as bad with two people. The car starts to roll forward.

"No problem." He grunts.

We push. "So are you- fleeing the city too?"

"We were visiting Katjaa's sister up in Memphis. We're from Fort Lauderdale. Just picked a bad time for a visit, I guess."

"Oh…" I don't know what else to say. We keep pushing.

"So where are you and your sister headed?" He asks.

"She's not my sister." I say trying to think of an answer.

"Daughter?" He asks surprised.

"No!" I'm not old enough to have kids! Well, at least not old enough to have a nine year old. "I'm only twenty. I'm… just a friend."

"Ah, I see." He says.

We finish pushing the car along the fence. It wasn't great, but it was out of the way. "As too where we're going; anywhere really. Without gas, we're not going anywhere at all."

Kenny brushed off his hands. "Well, if you don't mind riding in the back with Lee, you and your girl are welcome to come with us. It'll improve our head count, and you're surprisingly strong for a guy with purple hair. We'll be passing Macon on the way to Fort Lauderdale."

I look at him, surprised by the hospitality, ignoring the comment I get all the time on my hair. I guess he's just a really friendly guy. "R-Really? Yes, please. We would appreciate it."

"That's settled then." He heads back to his truck.

I was too quick to judge him. He seems like a great guy. I decide to head around back and almost collide with the man Katjaa called Lee, coming around the tree.

"Sorry." He says in a deep voice before introducing himself. "My names Lee."

"I'm Garry." I reply. "Ib and I just came out of Atlanta. Her mother… left her in my care."

He looks at me. "She… had to stay?" He asked.

"She was dying…"

"Oh…"

I look over, although I can't see the girls from that side of the house. "And what about you and Clementine?"

"I found her alone with one of those _things_ in her house. I couldn't just leave her, so I brought her with me." He shook his head. "I'll admit, that I was glad to see kids her age here. Maybe that will make things easier on her."

"I thought the same thing." I reply.

"And you're plans?"

"At the moment, we're going to catch a ride with Kenny." I shrug. "I'm not sure what after that. I'll look for somewhere safe to wait this thing through and then… maybe I'll try to find what's left of her family."

"Not yours?" He asks.

"My families back in Japan. I'll try to reach them at some point, but everyone's probably fine out there." I'm not about to ask Hershel to use his phone to make such a long distance call, and I'm a little worried that they wont answer.

I can deal with that after.

"Your Japanese?" He asks in a you've-gotta-be-kidding-me tone, giving me a once over.

I grin, embarrassed. "Only part, My dad's tall. We've lived back and forth most of my life, and they moved back when I started collage."

"Well, it explains the hair." He said with a laugh.

Lee seems nice too! Our luck must be changing. Maybe we'll stay with these nice people until all this blows over and things can get back to normal.

Lee goes to talk to Kenny and I head around back to meet Shawn, Hershel's son and Duck, the skinny kid, Katjaa and Kenny's son. He's an excitable kid, and friendly. That's good. You can tell a lot about people by their kids. Ib is a quiet, girl and so mature, because her parents were so… proper.

I offer to help, but Shawn sends me to the barn to help his dad. Hershel immediately sets me up cleaning up the blankets which we all just kind of left out.

"Do you mind if I leave my car here?" I ask as I climb up the ladder to the second level. "Kenny is going to give us a ride. I'll leave the keys so you can move it, but I, uh, do hope to be able to get it back when this is all over."

He nodded. "You can leave it. I'll try not to mess with it, but I'm not going to go out of my way to keep it waiting for you."

I nod. "I understand. Thank you."

"No problem."

I start to roll up the blankets when Hershel starts talking again. "You should know that if you weren't leaving with Kenny today, I wouldn't stand for your lack of honesty last night."

His hostile tone makes me jump. What? I didn't lie about anything.

"I'm not sure I follow."

Oh, he's talking to Lee. I try not to hear the conversation, but I kind of can't avoid it. It worries me that Lee lied about something like who he was with in a car. I'm not sure what it means, but maybe he'd lie about bigger stuff too… Lee changes the subject, and they end up talking about the farm and Lee's family. He tells how he found Clementine and Hershel huffs, putting down his pitchfork.

"Can I give you a piece of advice?" He says.

"Sure." Lee says.

The old farmer warns him about honesty. If he's going to have to trust other people then they're going to have to be able to trust him.

I agree completely!

There's a loud sound outside and someone starts screaming. They both run outside as I hurry to the ladder, almost tripping over the hay. Have the monsters reached here too? Ib get away from them! I can't get my feet on the rungs fast enough.

I get around the house just in time to see Lee and Kenny free Duck from the grips of one of the walkers. Shawn is trapped beneath the tractor yelling for help as Kenny rushes to get Duck to safety. Ib and Clementine are watching from the side. Hershel come up right behind me with his gun and we make it just in time for those creatures to break the fence and rip a chunk out of the kids neck and legs.

I grab the girls and make them look away. There's no need for them to see that, but they already have. They both look at me with fear filled eyes as Hershel sets off his gun three times. They wouldn't forget that. There's a lot of things they wont forget… Duck comes up beside me and Katjaa turns to block his view as well.

Hershel kneels over his sons body, probably hoping he was still alive. I shake, feeling sorry for him.

"Get out." He says. Then he stands up and turns to us. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

Kenny tries to apologize, but the farmer just screams at him before turning to Lee and yelling at him too. I don't blame him. He's just lost his son. When he's done, he tells us all to leave, before kneeling by his son again to grieve.

Kenny looks at Lee. Then he and Katjaa look at me and the girls.

"You've both got that ride to Macon if you want it." He says and looks at me. He Katjaa and Duck start up without us.

I take Ib's hand, leaving Clementine with Lee and following them out. It's not like I have anything of real value left in my car, but I'll leave the keys. Somehow I doubt I'll end up getting it back now…

"Are you ok?" Ib asks, looking up at me.

I smile. What is she doing asking me that? "I'm ok. What about you?"

She looks ahead with a determined nod. She's trying to be strong. I don't want her to have to be strong. She's just a little girl. "I'm ok, too."

…

We're out of gas.

It's the second time in two days I've felt the car crawling on it's last breath. We're in that town called Macon. Lee and I look around from the bed of the truck. Seems pretty empty.

The car stops and Kenny opens the door calling back to us. "Well, this is as far as we're going." He says.

"Then it's far enough." Lee says jumping out. I get out on my side and wait for the girls to get out.

"Did anyone happen to see a gas station?" I ask. "One that we might be able to get working?"

"We'll find something." Kenny says taking the lead with Duck and leading us down the street. I just hope we find it soon, because it's already late... Lee and Clem stop to look at a drug store, but I follow Kenny as Duck spots some people by their car and his father starts waving his arms.

"Hey there!" He calls as the other two join us again. "You friendly? Trucks run out of gas."

They sit up with garbled groans, revealing their sickly, hungry faces and the corpses they were feeding on.

"Fuck!" He yells, back up.

I pull Ib close to me as they started to appear out of under and around the cars. They surround.

"We're trapped!" Katjaa yells.

Duck crys out as one of them falls on him and knocks him to the ground. He struggles, but is saved by a gunshot, destroying the things head. His parents grab him, and the rest of us look up at the women who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, in a white blouse and black skirt, firing quickly and not missing. Another stranger, a man, calls to us from the drug store and we book it, the women covering our escape.

We get the doors closed behind us and I take a few quick breaths relieved. The shop is dark and the two of them aren't the only ones there. Immediately another women, one with long brown hair and an angry look approaches and starts to berate our savior.

"We can't take risks like this!" She practically snarls at her.

"And we can't just let people die, either." Says the woman in the white blouse.

"When I SAY "that door stays shut no matter what" I fucking MEAN it. We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous!"

I pull Ib behind me as a big guy comes up as well and starts arguing for her. He's not taller then me, and he's kind of old, but I'm not a fighter and there's little chance I could take him in a fight.

"We have kids with us." Lee argues, defending us.

"I see ONE little girl…" The man says with angry skepticism, pointing at Clementine.

I watch as she takes Lee's hand and tells him she has to pee. The fight has his distracted, so he tells her to go. Ib grabs her hand, saying she'll go with her and they slowly start for the bathroom door at the other side of the room.

"Can't we talk about this rationally." I say quickly as the fighting continues. The scary women looks at me like I'm not worth her time to answer before responding to the old man who called her Lilly. Lee takes a stab at her leadership, which I do not think is helping the situation.

"Holy SHIT." The old man says, looking over to were Katjaa is taking care of Duck, cleaning the walkers blood off of him on a stool. "Son of a bitch, one of them is bitten!"

What? No!

"He wasn't bitten." Lee argues and I sigh. Of course he wasn't, we would have seen it.

"We have to end this," The man says turning to them, "Now."

"Over my dead body." Kenny says stepping in front of his family protectively. The man tell him that they can dig one hole. Lee and I move to Kenny's side as Katjaa tells us all there isn't a bite.

"We were all there!" I argue. "He wasn't bitten."

The man glares at all of us. "Don't you fucking people get it? We've already SEEN this happen!" He tells us that if someone with a bit stays then we'd all end up bitten. Kenny yells at him to shut up and the man says to throw him out or smash if his head. Katjaa screams at Kenny to do something as she hurries with the cleaning, trying to prove it.

Kenny asks Lee what they should do.

"We kick his ass." He replies, which seems to please the trucker.

I hold out my hand. "Wait, guys-" The man is huge, we're at a complete disadvantage!

The arguing escalates with my, and now the long haired woman's, unsuccessful attempt to calm things.

"Lee?" Clementine calls amidst the fighting.

"Yeah?" He replies across the room.

"There's someone in there." She calls. For a moment I look over concerned, but Lee explains that the door was just looked and tells her where to find the keys.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here," Larry yells, his fight with Kenny continuing. I just stand there my arguments being ignored, until Lee finally losses it and tell Kenny to fight him. Kenny throws the first punch, but the old mans return knocks him right to the ground.

"Kenny!" I exclaim, just before two high screams fill the store.

One of those dead fall out of the bathroom just as Clementine managed to open it and it lands on the ground reaching out for her.

"Jesus!" Larry yelled.

"IB!"

"CLEMENTINE!"

I immediately try to run around the counter to get to them, but as I do, the old man backs up into my path and I smack into him, getting knocked back against the counter.

"Garry!" I hear Ib calling.

I quickly get back to my feet and shove my way past the man.

The thing has Clementine's leg holding on. Ib is behind her, trying to pull her free by her arm.

Lee gets there first, grabbing the creature and freeing the girls. They run over to me and I look at them quickly, making sure they're ok.

"Lee!" Clem says as the thing turns on him. I don't really think about it as I jump forward and grab the monster by its shirt, pulling it back as Lee pushes it. The girls are safe thanks to him and I can't just let him get eaten. Lee punches it once it's far enough back, but it doesn't seem to phase it.

There's another gunshot and the thing slumps forward dead. I let go and Lee knocks it back onto the floor next to us, both of us panting hard.

I look over and it's the women in white again. "You ok?" She asks.

Lee answers, but I'm already running over to Ib. "You two didn't get hurt did you?" I ask, kneeling down and hugging her. She shakes her head and Clem says she's ok.

We hear the sounds of those things outside begin scratching and banging on the wall, trying to get in. Everyone takes some kind of cover. I pull Ib tighter and move back beside the counter. Clem runs to Lee.

After a few seconds were hear the rapid fire of a machine gun somewhere in the distance and the noise draws the creatures away.

"Is that the military?" Lee asks. None of us know.

"We almost DIED-" Larry starts, going on about our white-bloused hero and her 'itchy trigger finger'. I don't have time for another argument to start before he suddenly grabs his heart and hits the floor.

"DAD!" Lilly yells running to him. Is he having a heart attack?!

"Was HE the one bitten?" Lee asks, but Lilly explains it is his heart and that they're out of pills. At a loss for what to do, she turns to Lee and begs him to try and get into the Pharmacy in the back.

Ib pulls away from me and since the attack seems to have made everyone calm down, I let her and she goes to Clementine, while Lee agreed to go through the office and Kenny tells us all to get comfy.

Glenn, the man in the baseball hat that helped us out earlier leaves to get more gas for the truck after Lee gives him Clementine's other walky-talky. Kenny, tells Lilly and her father that they'll get their medicine, then starts handing out orders to the rest of us.

He tells the man standing at the front door, a kind of nerdy looking guy, the only one who hasn't said anything, to be the look out.

"It's Doug," He said, "you got it."

"And I'm Carley." Says the women in the white blouse.

Kenny tells her to shift in with Doug, but to rest first. "You're a good shot and I'd like to keep it that way.

She nods. "You got it boss."

"Garry." He says looking at me.

I jump, hoping I don't sound as nervous as I am. I'm still a little freaked out that one of those things had gotten in here.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you find something and pack anything useful you find into it. Look for food especially. Get it ready and keep it close. Be quick, we might have to leave in a hurry."

"Yes Sir."

I start right away. There's a box on the counter meant for donations. It's empty, but it's a good size and it doesn't look like it will fall apart. I'm glad to have something useful to do.

I kneel by the shelves and start putting stuff in, making sure to fill the space as much as possible. A lot of the good stuff has already been used by whoever was using this place as shelter in the first place, but I do manage to find some important stuff. I pack the junk too, but keep moving it to the top, so I can get rid of it if the box becomes too full.

It doesn't take long before I've gotten most of the already bare shelves.

"Find anything useful?"

I look up at Lee, standing there. "Yeah. I've found bandages and other first aid type stuff. Toothbrushes and soap. A stack of blank paper and little food. Not much though, won't last all of us very long…"

He nods thoughtful. "Make sure you give something to the girls though, I'll make sure Duck gets some." (3)

"I will." I answer quickly. I'd already planned to do that. "How is he?"

He frowns. "Not doing so well. I think that thing grabbing him outside got to him." He shook his head. "Kenny's thinking about that Shawn kid."

I look back down at the box. Shawn… those things bit him and we just left. "Do you think he came back…? As one of those things?"

He's quiet for a moment, and then nods. "Yeah. Probably."

"Do you think Hershel's ok?"

"I don't know."

I shake my head. "It's bad enough that he had to witness that, but if his son comes back… no parent should have to deal with that…"

"Yeah. I know." (4) He tells me to keep it up and goes back to searching.

Once the box is full I put it on the counter and join the girls behind the counter. Both of them smile at me. It's amazing how they can keep it together after everything that's happened. I doubt I'd smile at all if I wasn't worried about getting their spirits down.

"Look." Clementine say, holding out her hand. "I hurt my finger, but Lee bandaged it up for me."

I smile. Lee is definitely a good guy and the way he takes care of Clementine proves it.

"Here." I say, handing them each an energy bar. "You both must be hungry." They thank me, but quickly, more interested in eating then continuing conversation.

"Hey there, this is Glenn" Comes a voice over Clem's walky-talky. "and uh, I'm kinda in a jam here."

"Lee!" I call as the other starts asking for him. "It's Glen." He comes over and takes the walky. Glen managed to the get himself trapped, but Lee says that he'll take Carley down to get him.

"I'm still kind of hungry." Clem tells me.

I look at Ib and she looks away, almost like she's embarrassed to be hungry too. I feel horrible. I look at the supplies, but like I said, there isn't much. If they eat more now, there might not be anything for them later.

"I'm sorry… I'm sure there will be more later. Can you two be strong for me?"

Then look at me and nod with determination. "Garry?" Clem asks. "Are you a teacher? Like Lee?"

"Not really. I think I might like to be one."

"Oh. You sound like my teacher."

Ib smiles, poking her arm. "He sounds like a lady." (5) They both giggle. I can feel myself twitch, but it's good to hear them laughing right now.

I notice Lee and Carley leave to get Glenn, so I leave the girls to themselves. Lilly and Kenny both kind of scare me, but neither of them pay attention to me as I go past them to tell Kenny that I'm finished.

"Good." He tells me. "It's not too heavy is it?"

"No. Not for me."

"Great. You'll be in charge of it if everything goes to hell. It'll be good to have those supplies."

I nod and look at Duck. He's staring off. "Is he not feeling any better?"

"It just startled him." Katjaa says, a little defensively. I didn't mean to imply anything; I just feel bad for such an excitable kid to be down like that. Oh wait!

I reach into my pocket. I've got a couple of pieces of candy. I always carry them especially after that incident at the museum. I'd thought: 'Hey, never know when you're going to be in a dire situations with little kids that need comforting!'

I wasn't really expecting something like this to happen again, but…

"Here Duck, do you like blueberry?" I hold it out.

He looks at it and quickly comes into focus. "A piece of candy-!" He takes it and smiles at me. "Thanks!"

I am so good with kids!

"Thank you so much, Garry." Katjaa say honestly.

"Do you have more?" Duck asks.

"Duck-" Kenny scolds gently.

The kid smiles. "Oh, I… I meant for the others."

Kenny shakes his head. "Actually, if you're finished why don't you go see if Doug needs a break."

…

When Lee gets back with the other Doug takes over the door again. They all look pretty down and I catch him right after he finishes talking to Kenny.

"What happened? I ask.

He shakes his head. "I'll tell you later. I'm going to get those pills first."

I understand. And sure enough, after looking around a little longer, he and Doug come back in claiming they have the keys.

"Great!" Lilly says standing up. "God, you're amazing. Let's get in there."

Clementine and Ib follow them to the door and wait for them to get back. Duck seems to be feeling a little better, cause he gets up and starts exploring the store.

Not even a minute goes by before an alarm suddenly goes off. We all look around startled and the girls cover their ears.

"Oh Shit!" Kenny yelled. "What did they do?!"

"We tripped the alarm!" Lee answers unintentionally, coming out the door with Lilly behind him. She quickly gets the pills to his dad and says they'll need a minute for them to work.

I run to the window and check outside. Those things outside are already scratching at the wall. It wont be long before more of them show up and they manage to get through these poor defenses. "We don't have a minute!" I yell.

"I'm going to get the truck pulled up 'round back." Kenny says.

"Do it fast, I've got to get my dad out of here." Lilly yells as the old man gets up and they run out the back door.

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying." Kenny tells her, before telling his wife and son to get into the office and barricade the door. "Garry. Get those supplies to the truck."

I look over. Ib is sitting on a stool next to Clementine with Lee. He'll protect her as long as they stay together. Besides it will be more dangerous outside.

"Ib, stay with Clem, ok." I tell her, grabbing he box.

"Ok!" She calls.

I follow Katjaa outside and she's working on the door. Kenny comes in after us, with Lee's axe. Larry is resting there, waiting for his pills to kick in.

"Hurry Lilly. Get the cars started."

"Glenn has the keys!" Lilly yells.

"Glenn, we need you're help!" Katjaa calls. "Please hurry!"

Kenny moves the board and ushers us out. The back ally is still clear. But it wont be clear for long with that alarm going off. Glenn shows up as we get outside.

"What do you need?" He asks

"Get the trunk open." Kenny orders. I put the box of supplies in the truck under Ducks feet as he climbs in and Katjaa gets in the front.

"Wait; the others!" Glenn says.

Kenny shakes his head. "I'll get them. Garry, get the gas in the truck!" I grab the gas out of the trunk as Glenn gets it open and poor it into the gas tank.

Doug comes booking out of the building, with Kenny right behind him. "They got her-! They really-!" He stops and looks at me. "Those things got Carley."

"What? How!?" I ask.

"They came in the window and-"

"They're INSIDE!?" I shove the can into his arms and run to the door. Larry appears at the door before I can reach it, pulling both frightened girls along by their arms.

"Here." He says, shoving them at me and I grab them, too relieved at their well being to be angered by the way he man-handled them. "Lilly! Get in the car! Lets go!" He snarls.

"Are you ok?" I ask quickly, not giving them time to answer before leading them back to the truck.

"One of them grabbed us." Ib tells me. "But Lee-"

"He knocked Lee down!" Clem yells. "He's still in there!"

Who did? Larry?! That son of a-! I yell to get Kenny's attention. "Lee's still inside!"

"What-? Shit!" He runs back in.

"Come on-!" I say opening the doors. "Get in, quick now."

"Girls, buckle up." Katjaa says, looking back at us.

"We have to go!" Glenn says as I get the door closed and climb into the truck bed. Those things are almost on top of us! "Where are they?"

"Leave them!" Larry shouts from the backseat.

"Go!" Kenny yells, running out of the door. Lee follows behind him. The car starts up, lunging through the creatures in the front, buying us a few more seconds for Kenny to get in and for me to pull Lee up into the back. We barely have time to get down before the truck speeds out of there.

…

Lilly volunteered to removed the bodies from the motel. I think she might be trying to make up for attacking us earlier. Or maybe for her dad. I don't care. I'm just glad that I don't have to do it.

I sit on a crate, and put my head in my hands. I haven't been so scared since the museum, and before that: never. I mean: it's not like the museum, because it have been just the two of us. This time there are still people around. People we can rely on and talk to…

…And those very real human people are the ones turning into the monsters that want to eat us. The worst part is, is that theses no way to escape!

"Garry?"

I sit up quickly and force a smile as I see Ib standing right next to me. "Ah, I'm sorry Ib."

"Are you ok?" She asks anyway.

"I'm fine." I promise, rubbing her head. "I'm just a little tired after everything." She looks down, not sure what to say, her expression sad. "Are _you_ ok?"

"I thought it was going to eat us." Her eyes scrunch up. "I thought we were going to die. I was scared… I thought… I thought these scary things were all over…"

I grab her hand and pull her into a hug. "It's ok." I whisper. "I know. I thought so too. But you're doing so well. You're such a brave girl, just like your mother told you. Here…"

I let go and pull two pieces of candy out of my pocket. If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have brought the whole bag with me this morning. "Remember these?" She smiles, light coming back to her face. "There. Why don't you go give one to Clementine?"

"Not Duck?" She asks.

"I gave him one earlier when he was sad." I reassure her. "It's ok." She accepts it and runs over to the RV with the other children.

"Candy?" Lee asks walking up. "You've got candy?"

I look at him. "Yeah. But I've only got a few pieces. If things keep up like this, they'll be gone by the end of the week."

"Hopefully, it won't go down like that."

I nod, slouching to rest my elbows on my legs and rub my face.

"Thanks for thinking of Clem." He says. In regards to the candy.

I look at him. "Thank you for saving Ib. If you hadn't been there-" I stop, looking away. "…I promised I'd protect her, but she'll probably end up saving me through all this. Just like always."

"Is that so?" He asks.

I smile at him slightly. "I think Clementine will probably save you too."

He looks over at them seriously. "…Yeah. Maybe she will."

Ib comes back, looking a little better then before. "Thank you for saving me, Lee."

"Sure thing. But how about we all try to avoid getting grabbed from now on. Ok?" She nods. "Ok then. I'm going to check on the others."

Ib looks at me until I move over so that she can sit on the crate too. "How is Clementine?" I ask.

"She misses her parents." She answers.

Oh…

"Garry?"

Shit.

Her voice is flat, almost like she doesn't care any more, but I know she does. "When he got home he was bleeding. He told Mommy to hold the gun, just incase, and she got bit anyway. Then she shot him…"

I nod slowly, not sure what to say.

"…Mommy turned into one of those things… didn't she?"

No, don't ask me that… I don't know how to answer that.

"…"

She looks at the piece of candy in her hands. "It's ok… This isn't like the painting is it? I'm never going to see them again, am I?"

I wince, thinking of the women standing in the doorway as I speed off with her only child…

"N…Not if I can help it. They wouldn't want you to see them like that." I get off the crate and kneel in front of her, making her look at me. "Remember them smiling ok? Remember the the last time you saw them together, telling you that they love you, ok?"

She looks at me, tears coming to her eyes anyway. Quietly she unwraps the piece of candy and puts it in her mouth, before putting her face in her hands and crying softly. I stroke her hair, comfortingly.

There are gunshots in the distance.

"I hope that's the sound of us winning this thing." Kenny calls out to Lee and Lilly. Lilly agrees. So do I, but I don't say anything, just listen in to their conversation as Ib cries into her embroidered handkerchief.

"This motor inn's pretty damn defendable." He points out. "We block off the entrance with some cars and keep someone on watch and we could stay here until the military rolls through."

They head to the front, as Lilly agrees.

I look around. Ok, well… it's not a five star hotel, but it's not horrible. There are lots of rooms and beds. I'm sure there's more around here then we think too. Kennys right. There are definitely plenty of saving points.

Immediately the lights around the inn go out, and then we're left in darkness.

I jump startled by the change. Ib's hand finds it's way into mine.

"I'm here." She tells me.

…..

TO BE CONTINUED

…..

NEXT TIME ON

**ROSES IN THE WALKING DEAD**

I promised her I'd take care of her… But how am I supposed to do that when we don't have any food left?

"Could you… just make sure that Ib gets some?" I ask, looking down. "I don't envy you, Lee."

"Did you catch anything?" Ib asks excitedly as we walk up. I don't want to tell her 'no' but I can't tell her anything else...

"That was all of it." Lee says slowly.

"Howdy." Says the stranger. "I'm Andrew St. John. We're from the St. John's Dairy."

"It's beautiful." Lee says.

"I think something is going to happen." Kenny says. "Wait here and keep an eye on things, while I go talk to Lilly."

"Bandits!" Lee yells hurrying towards us. "There was a god damn ambush!"

I look at Kenny. "Was that Mark?" I ask, as we both take off into the woods.

"I saved you're little girl!" Larry snarls. "You ungrateful punk!"

"You didn't save her; Lee did! And you were just going to leave him in there to die!"

"NO MORE! PLEASE!"

I look over to see Lee raise his axe aiming at the helpless man.

"LEE WAIT!"

**CHOP!**

* * *

**ROSES IN THE **

**WALKING DEAD**

Chapter 2

**STARVED FOR AID**

* * *

…Is it weird to like that preview almost more then the rest of the story …?

ANYWAY! I like how this came out. Yeah, it was rushed and went way to fast, because I was trying to keep it on time with the episode and I tried hard to keep everything canon, without quoting too much, so I ended up cutting a chunck of the dialog.

(1) Lol: Learning basic controls. XD

(2) She's out of ammo, in case you were wondering why she didn't give them the gun.

(3) Because Cry forgot to give an energy bar to CLEMY!

(4) Lee will remember that. XD Jk. Well…

(5) Ib asks Garry why he "sounds like a lady" in the game if you talk to him enough.

**If you want to see the rest you have to leave me a comment. **At the moment, although I really want to write chapter 2, I'm not as interested in chapter 3. Unless you guys seem into it, I'm going to leave it as a one-shot.

Ib, Walking Dead, Dialog between not Ib and Garry and basic plot (…holy shit) © Their respective owners.

The rest of the written format of this… I did it. ;u; And it makes me happy.


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